Betrothed Episode Four: Betrothed, #4

By Odette C. Bell

She can't run any more. Illuminate Hart has found her, and now there's no turning back.
She can't afford to, either. At the heart of Annie's betrothal is a terrible secret, one someone is willing to kill over.
If she can't figure out who wants her and why, more will fall, and she will be the first to die.

….

Betrothed follows a woman from the past and an all-powerful alien lord fighting through the galaxy for destined love. If you crave your space operas with action, heart, and a splash of romance, grab Betrothed Episode Four today and soar free with an Odette C. Bell series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Odette C. Bell
• Release date: Oct 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781513015675

Book preview

1

Illuminate Hart

It was over.

Or had it just begun?

I had finally found Annie – or rather she had found me – but the hard work was still ahead of me.

I had turned my back on the Illuminates.

I instinctively knew that no matter how much evidence I amassed against Core, it wouldn’t be enough, neither would it come quickly enough.

I took her back to my ship waiting in orbit, without pause, though I did scan the monastery to check on the welfare of the staff and acolytes, ensuring they had what they needed before we left.

Time was now of the essence.

By comparison to my brothers and sisters, I possessed some of the fastest ships in the universe. But the other Illuminates were still quick, and they would be motivated to capture me; in living memory, no other Illuminate had turned from the fold.

I didn’t explain a word of this to Annie.

Not yet. She didn’t need to know the entire universe would be after me.

I would have to tell her eventually though.

Just not now.

I transferred the graft, Mark Havelock, to a specialized security cell aboard my vessel. I could have left him to the Foundation Forces, but I needed to know what he did.

That gun he’d used – the one he’d used to kill the chief priestess – was Illuminate technology. Old Illuminate technology.

Somebody had shown him how to synthesize it.

There were so many questions. Too many to count. I was drowning in a sea of uncertainty. There was only one thing I knew for sure: Anna Carter was back, but it would take a Herculean effort to keep her here.

…

Anna Carter

I was standing in my room, pacing, practically turning the soft pile of the carpet into dust as I ground it under my stomping feet.

This wasn’t my room – this was Fake Carter’s room. Illuminate Hart had been insensitive enough to give me the same room as the woman I’d had to serve.

I hated the place… yet at least it was comfortable. I hadn’t minded my small room in the monastery – and I’d adored the view – but it was nothing compared to the picture windows I now stood in front of.

Clamping my hands behind my back and grinding my thumbs together, I couldn’t help but let my eyes dart over the magnificent view beyond.

We had to be traveling at a phenomenal speed, because space was just so many blurred lines of light traveling alongside us.

Occasionally I walked up to the window and placed a hand on it.

What now?

I could rage against Hart all I wanted, but I’d accepted to come aboard.

He had been right: the more I stayed out there on my own, the more people would die.

Someone was willing to go to extreme lengths to get their hands on me.

If Hart could stop people from being murdered for my sake, I owed it to others to stay here.

That didn’t stop me from pressing my teeth into my bottom lip and scrunching my eyes half closed.

I wanted to chase away the nervous feeling rising in my stomach, but I couldn’t.

As hard as it was to admit, I wanted to see him again. I tried to tell myself it was only because I wanted to get this sorted – I wanted to solve this mystery, save the universe, and go back to my ordinary life.

But that was a lie, wasn’t it?

I just wanted to see him again, and I didn’t know why. For someone who had as many reasons to hate him as I did, it was a truly frustrating feeling.

I pushed my hand into my middle and tried to clench my jaw with determination. All too soon the determination waned, and I let out a loud sigh.

I was trying to understand the impossible, wasn’t I?

This situation was so far beyond me, there was no point in wasting my time trying to understand it.

This was an enormous universe, and out of everyone, I was betrothed to Hart and I was at the center of this mess.

I could stand here all day trying as hard as I could to push that fact away, but there was no denying it.

There was one thing I could do, though. Tip my head up, round my hands into fists, and tackle this head on.

Old Annie Carter – the one who had run through Cluster Prime in a fit of confusion and tears – was not the woman who stood here now.

The past several months in that monastery had taught me something. So had my desperate actions to keep Hart alive.

I wasn’t as pathetic as I thought. I wasn’t as overcome as I assumed. With effort, I could learn.

I’d learned enough about the shields to fix them and to turn them off. I’d learned enough about the communication facility to send a message – even though it had been blocked.

So what else could I learn, if I put my mind to it?

It was a sobering thought. It took the edge off my self-pity, because it reminded me I should be spending my time trying to solve this mess, rather than complaining about it.

So I turned and headed for the door.

…

Lieutenant Mark Havelock

I was in a cell, on my back, one metal hand tapping against the floor as I stared up at the ceiling.

My feet were crossed over one another as I lay there.

I was waiting. For what? I had no idea.

What would Hart do with me? Disassemble me? Try to preserve whatever biological matter remained?

It would kill me.

Or would he send me to a Foundation prison for the rest of my life?

Or would he execute me when Annie wasn’t looking?

So many possibilities. They flitted through my mind as I continued to drum my metal fingers on the floor, one after the other. The hollow sound rang around the room like a metallic heartbeat.

Occasionally my mind was brought back to ASX-09.

Did I feel even a glimmer of regret at having killed her?

No.

If I hadn’t murdered her, she would have murdered others. Such is the life of a graft. We are compelled to propagate our kind by tearing the devices that populate our bodies in half and shoving them into our victims. But it’s not every graft who has the dubious honor and responsibility of grafting another.

I, for one, had never grafted another. But given time, I would have. The AI in my mind would have compelled me to do it.

There was so much I didn’t understand about what I was. But as time passed – with nothing else to do but drum my fingers on the floor – I thought.

I questioned.

And it was all a distraction.

All a distraction from her.

Annie Carter.

I’d done this for Annie. Disobeyed my orders, killed ASX-09, and allowed myself to be captured.

All for Annie.

Why?

Why not? She was just as much a victim in this as I was. And I was sick of being a victim.

My fingers stopped drumming all of a sudden, drawing stiff as tension flooded my body.

The only reason I was in the future was that somebody had dragged me from the gutters of the past to experiment on me. And the only reason I was still alive was because ASX-09 had dragged my dead body into a storeroom to stuff it with mechanical life.

I was sick of being a victim.

Did that mean I would help Illuminate Hart track down those who were after him?

No.

I wouldn’t help Fargo either.

But maybe, maybe I would help Annie.

2

Anna Carter

To no great surprise, I couldn’t leave my room – the door was locked.

Either Hart was worried I’d take the chance to do another runner, or he didn’t want me exploring his vessel.

I ground my teeth together and narrowed my eyes as I made a call over my intercom for assistance.

Half a minute later, there was a beep from the door.

It opened to reveal the butler.

He clapped his hands in front of him and bowed his long back, his head almost touching his knees in a gesture of deference.

My first inclination was to laugh. Though I didn’t really have a problem with the butler – at least not compared to Hart himself – the guy had been nothing but rude to me the entire time I’d worked for him.

Now he was doing some kind of space yoga in an attempt to show how much lower he was than me.

I shook my head. You don’t need to do that. You know me, remember? That is, if Hart informed you who I am, I suddenly realized. After all, I looked completely different. For the first time in months, I looked like myself. Everything from my long red tousled hair, to my floral tattoo peeking out from the sleeve of my T-shirt.

Unlike the Fake Carter, I wasn’t dressed in woven starlight. In fact, I was wearing bluestone jeans and a red T-shirt.

I have been informed, the butler nodded his head once more, again threatening to kiss the carpet, of your true identity.

So you remember I used to work for you. I crossed my arms. So you don’t need to bow to me.

It is customary— he began.

Let’s get one thing straight from the start – I don’t think I’m any better than you. I don’t think I’m any more worthy than you. And you don’t have to bow to me.

The butler, still compressed in half, gave me a sideways glance. It is tradition.

I couldn’t stop myself from snorting. I’m surprised Hart hasn’t told you – I hate tradition.

The Butler shot me a wary look as he straightened up and neatened his fine black tunic with a pat. Then he clasped his hands together and bowed his head. How can I help you, your eminence?

I was about to tell him to contact Hart, but my mouth dropped open. Your eminence?

"It is a customary